The Worker Health Protection Program (WHPP) provides free medical screening for former and current workers* at the following Department of Energy (DOE) sites: Gaseous Diffusion Plants (GDPs) in Oak Ridge, TN (K-25), Paducah, KY and Portsmouth, OH; the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, ID; Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, TN; the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY; the Nevada Test Site in Las Vegas, NV; Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, CA; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, CA; Sandia/CA National Lab in Livermore, CA; the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM; and two closure sites: Mound in Miamisburg, OH and Fernald in Harrison, OH.

WHPP was established under
Section 3162 of the 1993 Defense Authorization Act. The Act directed
the DOE to initiate programs to evaluate the health of former
DOE defense nuclear facility workers. The program is funded by
a contract from the DOE and is led by Queens College of the City
University of New York in partnership with the United Steelworkers
(USW), Atomic Trade and Labor Council (ATLC), the “Former” Fernald
Atomic Trade and Labor Council (FAT&LC) and Creative Pollution
Solutions (CPS), Inc.

The goal
of WHPP is to provide medical screening to detect work-related
illnesses at an early stage when medical intervention may be helpful.
In addition, it helps workers determine if a current health condition
is the result of a work-related exposure. For the first time, former
and current workers at DOE sites have the opportunity to obtain
an independent, objective assessment of their health in relation
to their prior workplace exposures by a physician with expertise
in occupational medicine. This is a clinical service program, intended
to be of direct and immediate benefit to its participants. Information
gathered may be used in an anonymous way to inform scientists and
to benefit future workers.

*Current workers are only eligible for medical screening at the three GDP sites.